


(0)7

by aaeiilnn, numberzero (aaeiilnn)



Series: Recount [6]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abhijat is here, Five keeps pacing, Gen, Hargreeves Children Support Group, Klaus is the support group leader tbh, Number Zero, Protective Hargreeves Siblings, Soft Vanya Hargreeves, Sparrow Academy, Vanya Hargreeves Deserves Better, Vanya Hargreeves-centric, Vanya gets the training she deserves, me vicariously living through Vanya going outside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26317105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aaeiilnn/pseuds/aaeiilnn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/aaeiilnn/pseuds/numberzero
Summary: "Are we seriously letting this happen?" Five asked incredulously, Diego supporting him from behind. "We're sending Vanya out?""She's going to be fine, right?" Allison asked in the silence of the room.Klaus went to lie back down on the floor. "Of course, she'll be fine. Vanya's got this."
Relationships: The Hargreeves Family, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone, Vanya Hargreeves & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Recount [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870099
Comments: 4
Kudos: 116





	(0)7

**Author's Note:**

> ✓ For the past 6 months I have stayed in my house, and the only time I've left was to go to a bank and stay there for an hour or so. I might have vicariously lived through Vanya in this fic.  
> ✓ Disclaimer: I don't actually get Vanya's powers (so i made it into something I do understand) nor do I have a lot of knowledge on classical music apart from my piano lessons for a few years.  
> ✓ This is slightly long I think? To make up for the past one 😬

Zero's face is seen through the glass at what seems like the third or fourth week, and she shows them a tray of food. With a motion, the members of the Umbrella Academy move back to the other side of the room with their hands up. The sound of the lock echoes and they wait.

"There's no plans to attack me today, is there?" She asks and Five turns his head to see half her body through the door. His fingers tingle and he's tempted to attack, but they've done 15 different versions of attacking Zero when she visits and nothing good ever comes out of it.

(To be fair, nothing bad really comes out of it, too. She just laughs and shakes her head at them before leaving, but, other than the moving to the back routine established the first time around, they've never been punished. It's just they know there's only so much attempted attacks one person can take before they snap, and Klaus, in particular, is against losing their one source of good food because the other members who has come by and introduced themselves don't really care much for their requests.)

"None," Klaus cheerfully replies. He seems to be the most welcoming among them towards Number Zero and is always up to talk about one of his wild stories back before all the time travel happened. He overshares, yes, but without sharing any important details about them as a team or how they worked and how they got here. If that's the case, and Zero treats them more kindly because of it, then surely she'll have her guard down at some point, so they don't discourage Klaus and his stories. "Is that Lucky Charms?"

"Yup, sorry. Only cereal today, kids." At her words and the sound of the door locking, they turn to her again. She was already sitting comfortably on the floor, preparing a bowl of cereal for herself. "Go on, help yourself."

Klaus quickly moved to her side and poured a bunch of cereal into his bowl. Others slowly followed, while Five and Diego stayed back and exchanged another exasperated look. It just doesn't seem to matter how much pep talk and reminders they drill into the others' heads, they always just seem to trust her.

There was a bit of silence for a while, only the sound of spoons scraping the bowl echoing in the room. "So, do you need anything?" Zero asked as she finished her breakfast.

Five leveled her with a deadpan gaze. "Yes, actually. We want to be let out." He said it in such a serious tone, but she laughed it off like she always does every single day.

"Can I get a new hair tie?" Vanya asked in between spoonfuls of cereals. "I broke mine this morning."

Zero watched her with an assessing gaze. "Can I see?" She held her hand out where Vanya placed the thin line of black elastic. "Alright, I could get you one." She pocketed it before collecting the empty bowls.

"Leaving already?" Allison asked. Not that she wanted to talk more, especially with how some of her stories were used against her some days ago. But usually, Zero stays for at least an hour, pestering them for more stories, or telling ones of her own. 

Zero nodded in response. "I'm off. Come on, Vanya."

The entire room froze at her words. Diego moved to pull Vanya behind him, and the tension that had dissipated over the food returned to their shoulders. Members of the Umbrella Academy formed a united barrier around their Number Seven, with Luther towering in the front. Five slipped through and faced Zero. "What are you going to do to her?"

"Whatever it is, we're not letting it happen." Diego snapped.

The exasperated, but amused, expression from when she was attempting to put them on timeout for the first time was back. She balanced the tray with bowls and the empty box of cereal on one hand, while the other was positioned on her waist. Zero always looks at them like they're not a threat, but now it also looks like she's dealing with children. "Didn't you say you wanted to be let out?"

"You're letting us out?" Klaus' hopeful tone asked.

"Well, no." She pursed her lips, looking unapologetic as she shrugged. "I don't have that much sway over how things go here. But I prioritized, and out of all of you, she needs to be let out the most."

"And why is that?" Allison questioned.

Zero scanned the group, her dark brown eyes narrowing at what she saw. "You barely have any idea about your powers, do you? Well, I already knew that, but it must be a surprise to some of you."

"So, what?" Vanya moved out of the shield her siblings have made around her. "You think I'm going to lose control?"

"Not really. I'm pretty confident I can timeout you throughout however long you stay here. But it's going to feel terrible for you to have both your physical body and your powers trapped in one space, so we're getting rid of one problem. Just for a few minutes at least."

Diego whispered something to Five, which he nodded to.

Zero spotted them almost immediately. "It's not gonna work. If, and that's a really improbable if, Vanya blows up this place because of her feeling suffocated or claustrophobic, then all of you die as well." She turned to Vanya. "You barely know the range of your powers. Is that really something you want to risk?"

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Luther interrupted. "You could be telling us this so you could get Vanya alone and easily overpower her."

"That's the thing, though." Zero grinned. "I _already_ overpower all of you now. But if it's any consolation, I haven't backed out of any of the promises I've made."

"I trust her." The siblings turn to find Klaus already lying on the ground. "Besides, what else can we do? Die again? Apocalypse 3.0?"

Allison breathed deeply and went to hug Vanya. "Try to find a way out and stay safe." She whispered.

"Are we seriously letting this happen?" Five asked incredulously, Diego supporting him from behind. "We're sending Vanya out?"

"You're not _sending_ anyone out. I'm _bringing_ her out." Zero corrected, slipping a hand around Vanya's arm. "Now, if you're all ready." She motioned to the others to move back.

It took longer than usual for them to find their way to the other side of the room, and even longer to just face the wall and let them leave. But in just a few short moments, they heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Immediately turning, they catch a glimpse of Vanya doing a small wave goodbye as Zero pulls her away, her other hand still balancing the tray of empty bowls and boxes.

"She's going to be fine, right?" Allison asked in the silence of the room.

Klaus went to lie back down on the floor. "Of course, she'll be fine. Vanya's got this."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Vanya asked when they got on the elevator. Even in their original timeline, she had never seen this elevator due to her memories being wiped the first few times she was brought here, and how she was unconscious at the two recent times. 

Zero let go of her arm, which felt weird. They're supposed to be prisoners in this place, but Zero has never really felt like their captor. If anything, she makes Vanya feel like she's just been staying quarantined in a hotel room with how often she follows their requests. (Not that she'd let Luther, Diego, or Five hear that. They seem to be the ones with the biggest problem about her.) 

"I'm taking you to the garden. A bit of fresh air might do you some good."

They passed by the kitchens first to drop the tray by the sink and headed straight for the doors. There was this feeling of excitement at the thought of seeing the outside, knowing that the sun would be hitting her skin. It was strange since Vanya's always preferred to stay indoors, but the glow of the outdoors looks so beautiful and welcoming to her right now. The things being imprisoned in the basement does to you.

"I'm going to take her outside for around thirty to forty minutes." Vanya turned to see who Zero was talking to and stepped back in surprise. "Hold the fort down for me, will you?" Then her arm was tugged again and Vanya lost sight of the green, glowing box floating, dare she say it, menacingly on the other side of the kitchen. 

Her first step outside took over her mind for a moment — the breath of fresh air with a hint of that familiar scent that lets her know it must have rained recently. She realizes she wasn't given shoes, but she's glad for it because the feeling of grass beneath her was very much welcomed. Vanya opened her eyes, not even realizing she's closed them, and spot the differences from what she's used to seeing back home. Since their Ben isn't gone, there's no gray statue to commemorate him in the middle of the yard. Instead, the place is filled with plants and flowers of various colors, brightening up the place more. (Diego has repeatedly pointed out that something about this academy _annoyingly_ screams peace and serenity, and this garden just proves it right.)

She doesn't notice how long it's been, but Vanya bets she spent a good portion of the time she had just absorbing the sun. The stone gazebo is still there, though it's cleaner than she's ever remembered seeing it. Zero is seated on the elevated parts where you should be leaning your head, and her legs were swinging freely from the height of her seat. With the sun beaming down on her, it's the first time Vanya notices Zero actually has deep red hair. So deep and dark that it has always looked black until the sun hit it just the right way.

"Walk around." She advised, not bothering to keep an eye on her. "It's going to be a while before you get time like this again, I bet."

It makes Vanya snap out of it. She should be looking for ways out. "Where are the others?" She asks hesitantly as she takes a few steps around. Subtly, she tries tapping into her powers, but it doesn't work at all.

"Out on a mission. They'll be back early tomorrow at the very least."

"Oh." Vanya remembers how she was unwillingly left home during missions and yet here's Zero, willingly staying and clearly enjoying her time alone. She wonders if maybe she could have handled things better. "What's the…uh…the green box?"

Zero looks at her from where she was sitting. "You don't know Abhijat?"

"What?"

"Who," Zero corrected. She jumped off her seat and moved to walk beside Vanya as she explored the garden. "Abhijat. He's been here as long as I remember, and, yes, he looks like a box, but he's family. You don't have Abhijat back home?"

Vanya shook her head. "What does he do?"

"He mostly helps out in security." Zero hummed in thought. "I mean, every one of us is trained enough to fend for each other and ourselves, but it never hurts to have more of a defense. He's also good at science, so sometimes he goes with dad in travels both to learn more and to keep dad safe."

"So, he, what? Shoots lazers?"

Zero laughed. "I see you looking for intel. You wouldn't want to find out what he can do. Just a piece of advice: don't try it. And if you'd be willing to take one more: Keep your siblings in check. Five and Diego, sometimes Luther, always seem like they're about to end up in a fight eventually. You don't need to gather more attention."

Vanya was lost in thought again, but she kept that in her mind to share with the others later.. She's moved around the garden enough to know there wouldn't be any way out, and that the secret passage that they would use when they were kids never seemed to exist in the first place. "Where's Reginald then? Is he in the mission too?"

"Sir Reginald." The automatic reply came. "No, he's off somewhere else, no doubt monitoring the situation, but he has other things to deal with." Zero looked amused at Vanya's straightforward questions. "Here, I'm not going to answer any more of your attempts, and I'm very stubborn when it comes to that, but I can show you something else."

Zero plopped down in the middle of the grass, patting the space in front of her to invite Vanya to do the same. They looked at each other in silence for a while until Vanya felt something cold and warm at the same time just rushing through her veins. It's faint and barely there, but Vanya recognizes it for what it is. 

"You gave me my powers back."

Zero shook her head, but smiled at the expression on Vanya's face. "I gave your control over a really small piece of it back. Maybe around 1% or less?"

Deep breaths. She could feel the slight, weak vibration within her, trailing up her spine. "Why?"

"You've never been trained. I thought, why not help out there?" Zero shrugged, as if this wasn't confusing the hell out of Vanya right now. She reached into her pocket and brought out a small snow globe. "Our Vanya used this when she was younger."

Vanya took the snow globe offered to her and saw that it was the typical one with a tiny decorated Christmas tree and pieces of snow that could move around freely in the water. She looked up to see Zero watching her carefully.

"Your power is strong and easily triggered by emotions. That's why control is especially important to you." There was no sign of hesitation as she spoke, which would continue to bother Vanya later on, but she was too focused on the words right now and understanding it. "Do you know any breathing exercises? It sounds fake, I know, but it really does help."

They spend the next few minutes reviewing what breathing exercises Vanya's heard about and learning new ones that Zero swears by. Vanya holds the snow globe tightly in her hands.

"Sound is important to you. It's basically your source of powers. When you feel emotions, your powers allow you to turn the sounds around you into some sort of energy you can control." The words were so familiar and Vanya barely held back a flinch from remembering Leonard and how he had manipulated her. Zero shot a concerned look but moved on. "The thing about that is: You're human, so you always feel emotions, and there's sounds everywhere."

"The key is learning to understand your emotions because that helps you control it better. Doing the breathing exercises will help at least clear your mind from the lack of logic emotions sometimes bring. That, in turn, helps you use the emotions you have more accurately. It won't help you to push down your emotions, because that would overwhelm you at some point, and faking your emotions makes your powers more unpredictable." Zero tilted her head. "There's also the way of just keeping calm all the time and having lots of patience, but it's exhausting and will get to you at some point too. The point is all emotions can be strong. You just need to be able to understand it, so you can figure out the best way to use it yourself."

Vanya furrowed her eyebrows. "How do I figure that out?"

"Well, that's really up to you." Zero shrugged. "It's not my powers. But I gave you back a part of control. What I want you to do is use that to move the snow pieces inside this." She tapped the snow globe thrice. "The catch is that I also gave you enough control to basically make this thin piece of glass explode. Find a way to channel your emotions to turn sound waves into energy that can somehow vibrate and move the pieces enough to make it snow over the tree, without breaking the globe itself."

Vanya was unsure, but she closed her eyes and did what she's done the past few times. There's a sound of a bee buzzing somewhere, slowly amplifying in her mind, and the feeling of freedom that she had leaving the building was spreading over her. 

Suddenly, the vibrations stopped. Vanya's eyes flew open to find her and Zero still in the same spot. Her eyes looked to the snow globe to find a small crack at the top that wasn't there earlier.

"Sorry, I had to shut you down." Zero smiled softly. "I don't exactly have a lifetime supply of snow globes."

"I don't understand." Vanyas muttered. That method has always worked for her.

"You focused on outside sounds, did you?" At her nod, Zero sighed. "Well, outside sounds aren't the most reliable in my opinion. It's all external anyway, so you've always had little control over it. I think you were doing great in your emotions though!"

Vanya lips slightly curled up at the compliment. "But I still can't control it."

"Apocalypse." Zero said. "You caused an apocalypse with your powers. I think the reason this is hard for you is that you didn't consider what a small and fragile piece of ornament this is. You're good at understanding your emotions, and making it stronger. You're good at transforming sounds into something you can control. But you also have to learn how to moderate it. The strong emotions turn into energy and vibrations, but you need to move it around in a certain way."

"Imagine your emotions give you the ability to move your arm." Zero took the snow globe. "And you now have the ability to shake the snow globe whatever way you want. But shaking it strongly a million times might just let it slip off your grasp and break. At the very least, it has the same effect as shaking it softly, with the snow pieces moving around and falling down anyway. So why waste the energy of shaking it until your arm hurts, if you could just turn it upside down once and have it done with?"

Vanya reached out and slowly took the snow globe back. "I— I think I get it. I want to try again."

She got a supportive smile in return. "Great! And if you could also consider internal sounds? Do you play an instrument?"

"A violin. I had to learn it ever since I was young."

"Ah," Zero nodded. "There might be a reason for that. See, if you focused on an external sound, like someone's footsteps while walking, you might be thrown off if they miss a step or start running. It's possible, of course, but it might be better for you to start with the basics."

"So, you must have learned some classical pieces, right?" Zero's eyes remained on Vanya's, genuinely teaching her the entire time. "When you play a classical piece, one of the fun things is that you get to control the pace. That's why some people can finish the same piece at different times. Since you know how to do that, and you can play an instrument, try imagining the sound of a violin playing one of your favorite songs and control the speed it goes at. Use that mental audio as your anchor."

At her words, Monti's _Csárdás_ begins playing in her mind. Though not technically her favorite, it was one of the few pieces she had chosen to learn first and is one that she's listened to million times. The low notes and slow pace started the piece and when the higher notes played in, Vanya opened her eyes with a much clearer understanding of everything Zero had been trying to say. She stared at the snow globe in her hands and felt the energy from her gently pushing the snow pieces to float up. 

Vanya smiled.

At the part of the piece she loves to hear the fast pace of, she was moving the falling snow in the tiny glass from side to side, swaying to the music on she could hear, as if she was touching it with her own fingers. The joy in the music helped with her emotions and there wasn't a single sign of the snow globe cracking. All Vanya could think was how fun this was being.

When the pace slowed down a bit, yet the high notes remained, she put down the snow globe and let go of her control over the snow. The rest of the piece played on in her mind without her feeling the need to control something, but still knowing that she could. When Vanya noticed that Zero had once again blocked her powers, the high feeling of finally being in control, even if it was just for a few seconds, still enveloped and comforted her.

"Thank you." She whispered, not even realizing it until the words had left her mouth.

Zero's gaze was soft and she inclined her head in acknowledgment before helping Vanya to her feet. Still feeling the joy and contentment of understanding her powers a bit more, a bit better, Vanya barely registered them reaching the basement room until she was already being gently pushed inside. 

She turned to see Zero send her one last smile as she waved over her shoulder when she left. 

"Vanya? Vanya!" Diego was in front of her, lightly tapping her cheeks to get her attention. By the looks on their faces, they must have been calling her name several times now. "What did they do to you?"

"No, she…" Vanya let out a breath she didn't realize she's been holding. That's when she notices her hand was holding tightly onto something — a thin piece of hair tie, as white as the snow she had managed to control. All at once, the emotions come back and there were tears falling from her eyes.

"Hey! What did you do?!" Diego let go of her slammed his palm repeatedly at the glass on the door, shouting at the empty corridor. "What did you do to her?!" Allison took his place in front of Vanya and pulled her sister into a tight hug.

Vanya pulled away reluctantly when she was starting to get a clearer mind. The breathing exercises from earlier echoing in her head. "Diego, stop. She didn't do anything."

"What about the others?" Five asked.

Vanya shook her head. "They weren't there. It was just Zero."

"Then why are you crying? What's wrong?" The tone of concern in Luther's voice was evident.

Vanya smiled again, but the tears kept coming. "She helped me."

Klaus moved closer. "Helped you what?" Though he probably already knew the answer.

"Training." She breathed out, beaming excitedly at the others. "She helped me actually train without anyone getting hurt and—"

"She gave you back your powers?" Diego interrupted.

"No, not really. Just a bit, not enough to blow the place up or get us all out. I tried, trust me." Vanya shook her head. "She just helped me understand it more. I've never… I've never felt so sure of myself before." At a loss for words she moved to sit down on the floor.

Allison followed, and, slowly, so did the rest. "She didn't hurt you? Didn't manipulate you or anything?"

Vanya shook her head. "She just let me walk around the garden and then we had training for the rest of the time."

"What is her motive?!" Five stood up, asking the ceiling in a frustrated manner before he resorted to his usual pacing.

Klaus pulled him back down to sit beside him and faced Vanya. "Well, it's Vanya's first proper training session and, look at her, she looks ecstatic! Aren't you all proud?"

For a moment, Vanya is brought back to the times she would wander around them during their training as kids, always asking how it feels or what they're going to do next. For a second, she considers keeping it all to herself the way they all did.

"Do you want to talk about it, Vanya?" Klaus asks encouragingly. He nudges the others to show the same enthusiasm he does, but they do it in a more controlled manner. "Tell us about it!"

They're trying and, despite being locked up like prisoners for almost a month now, they really are getting better and becoming closer. Vanya couldn't ruin that.

So, she genuinely smiles once more, and tells them the story.

**Author's Note:**

> ✓ Abhijat will return in my fics and he's an actual character in the comics who was the servant of Reggie. Ngl I also don't exactly get his purpose in the comics bc I'm bad at analyzing comic book stories, so I mostly just used him and his name as an inspiration to get the green box thing in the story 👍🏽  
> ✓ When I tell you I felt the warmth and happiness and contentment that Vanya was feeling when she stepped outside, I'm not lying and that's also how I felt when I left once despite how polluted this damn country is.  
> ✓ The piece in this fic is this from start until about 4:28 — https://youtu.be/IPYHy8k9Z34. It just sounds so beautiful.  
> ✓ Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
